Greetings, all and sundry! There’s been a topic tumbling around my gray matter for awhile that has been seeking surcease and release. Patiently waiting for the right opportunity to make itself known. Something that at first glance may seem archaic, but was a staple for a young man being raised on the many variations of the War Film. Specifically, World War II and Korea.Though Vietnam will also get its due.

… though Red Alert came out first (and was later the source material for Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant black comedy, Dr. Strangelove), I daresay FAIL-SAFE’s story has held up better in the decades since either book’s initial release. In spite of the fact both were locked into the specific post-WWII military tension, the later novel was more relatable to latter times because of its version in the nightmare scenario. Its basis of a technical glitch I believe rang more true then, and certainly more understandable with folks today, regardless of the passage of time.

To put it mildly, Burt Reynolds has had an interesting career — feel free to read in the old Chinese blessing slash curse at this point. His charismatic presence with early recurring roles on the Gunsmoke and Riverboat television series got many people’s attention (mine included, as a kid transfixed with TV). He parlayed that into larger and larger film roles.

Even when his films began to experience critical and financial failures in the mid-60s, Preminger’s still held your eye and interest. Likely the initial film of these so-called bombs would also be the first of his I actually saw on the big screen at the local movie theater. In Harm’s Way. It’s my contention the film’s forgotten somewhat because it’s not listed among either the director’s or the film’s leading man’s best. That’d be unfair for it was a better drama than given credit, perhaps disregarded because of its war film heritage.